User Experience and User Interface Design

At-A-Glance

During the summer of 2022, I worked with D-Ford and the Activation Team to create the digital experience and UX/UI design for the next generation of dashboard user interfaces for an EV truck. The goal for my project was to help drivers who work for small businesses and contractors be more productive and stay focused while on job sites.

I also worked with the Communication Design, Interaction Design, and Business Design teams creating final experience design deliverables for the project milestone.

Tools Used

Figma

Bluescape

Miro

My Role

UX/UI Design

Visual Design

Intern

Timeline

12 weeks

Project Overview

During the summer of 2022, I joined the Activation team at D-Ford as an intern. For my project, I created a next-generation in-system digital experience for a truck. On a macro level, I analyzed data from previous user research and created detailed user journeys, information architecture, design solutions, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes. I also collaborated and worked with different teams for communication design, interaction design, and business design to create final experience deliverables. While I can’t disclose the details of my project due to the NDA, feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more!

Key Takeaways

The summer ‘22 internship was a truly memorable experience. Working with a Fortune 500 company was a transformative experience; I have learned, grown, and understood more about applying the human-centered design process to solve real-world problems. Especially understanding and maintaining the balance between business and design through the business models and the ecosystem itself. Despite the internship being virtual (one week on-site), I was still able to maximize my interactions with the talented designers at Ford and establish connections with them. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from my internship.

Resource Utilization

As a new intern, I struggled at the beginning when trying to understand how teams within D-Ford work and communicate with each other. I felt lost and didn’t know where to begin contributing. However, after talking with my supervisor, other designers, and managers, I started familiarizing myself with the design system and resources. I became more efficient and produced better work every day. Also, it’s important to ask the right question to get more insightful resources.

Time Management

It is essential to prioritize tasks to help me stay on track and manage my tasks better. I was able to manage my own time, but also assist in helping other teams finish the high-impact deliverables for management to review within the time constraints. During my internship, I also participated in the intern hackathon competition with other interns, and my team won the popular-vote award.

Design is never done

I learned that frequent design critiques and constant feedback gathering were vital. My designs were getting better every day, and I could see my level of confidence in my design was increasing. Getting valuable and insightful feedback helped to evaluate my design tremendously. I learned to embrace ambiguity, continue to be curious, and push for new ideas.

Being Flexible and Dealing with Changes

Working in a big corporation, I learned that it is necessary to be flexible and positive when dealing with inevitable changes. Things can change overnight or during a meeting. In a big organization, design teams often work with many other teams (engineering, marketing, business teams, etc.), and based on their input, a change may be required to meet the business needs. We have to adapt to change and be flexible and stay positive.